by Matt Russell I have been wrestling with a reality that exists for folks who open up to the spiritual life; it’s a reality that has haunted me for a long time. The reality is this: There is the life I want (the emotional depth, the spiritual sensitivity, the integrated authenticity, all that stuff ) and the life I am living. There is the life I am hungry for (the life that only God can … [Read more...] about Minding the Gap
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Hearing God’s Love Songs as Prayer
The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 Prayer is taking in God’s delight in us. Prayer is being quieted by God’s love. Prayer is listening to God sing songs of joy over us. Whether our parents delighted over us or not, whether our parents quieted us with love or … [Read more...] about Hearing God’s Love Songs as Prayer
Asking for Healing as Prayer
O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. Psalm 30:2 The truth is that we are not well. We are full of fear and anxiety. We struggle with shame. We are caught up in obsessions and addictions. We are blind to our greed and pride. We are defensive, hard hearted and reactive. We are self centered. We fail to live as if we—and all others—are loved and valued beyond measure by … [Read more...] about Asking for Healing as Prayer
Softening our Hearts as Prayer
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Psalm 95:6-8 Our hearts long for God. Yet, too often, we defend ourselves against this longing. We protect our hearts by hardening them against the love we seek because we are afraid that … [Read more...] about Softening our Hearts as Prayer
Navigating Grief
an interview with Robert Bird Grief is not easy. It is not quick. It is not painless. Few of us welcome it into our lives. It comes uninvited. We prefer that it would leave as soon as possible. But what pain we add to our lives if we refuse what this uninvited guest has to offer! To learn more about the dynamics of grief we interviewed Robert Bird, a hospital chaplain who has worked extensively … [Read more...] about Navigating Grief
Letting Ourselves Be Carried as Prayer
Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. Mark 2:3-4 Sometimes prayer is letting ourselves be carried by others. Sometimes we cannot pray. We may try to talk with God, or to listen to God, … [Read more...] about Letting Ourselves Be Carried as Prayer
Letting Ourselves Be Carried as Prayer
Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. Mark 2:3-4 Sometimes prayer is letting ourselves be carried by others. Sometimes we cannot pray. We may try to talk with God, or to listen to God, … [Read more...] about Letting Ourselves Be Carried as Prayer
Chapter 5: The Living Free Program
The Living Free Program provides curricula for a series of Christ-centered support group meetings designed by and for people raised in addictive, emotionally repressive, or dysfunctional families. After attending secular support groups, the developers of the Living Free Program recognized the need for similar groups within the church. Consequently, they created this ministry to provide a … [Read more...] about Chapter 5: The Living Free Program
Step One
by Dale and Juanita Ryan We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-- that our lives had become unmanageable. Who cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act … [Read more...] about Step One
Criticisms of Recovery – Part 2
by Dale Ryan In the last article in this series I discussed the most insensitive, intransigent and personally painful kind of resistance to recovery - our own resistance. We tend to be our own worst critics. We resist the changes most tenaciously. In most cases we fight it, reject it, hate it - probably more than anyone else. It is often true, however, that the recovery journey takes us … [Read more...] about Criticisms of Recovery – Part 2
